


You're complicated

by ticoyuu



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Character Study, M/M, No Spoilers, Pre-Slash, Socially Inexperienced (But Doing His Best) Byleth, sylvain is bi and im enraged
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-27 21:31:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20052853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ticoyuu/pseuds/ticoyuu
Summary: In which there is a fly-leth on the wall who accidentally becomes privy to some… interesting conversations, and ends up having one of his own.(Alternatively: Byleth thinks Sylvain is super weird.)





	You're complicated

**Author's Note:**

> i really wanted to make this joke SOMEHOW ok lemme live FJKLSDKLJFS also my sylvain boner can probably be seen from space.. . hes got that MMMM [byleth voice] UR COMPLICATED thing going on and honestly,, uuugu my fav// 
> 
> this is set early in the academy phase and is completely spoiler-free except for some sylvain support tidbits. anyway pls give sylvain some lovin he deserves it. thnx for attending my seminar

Linhart, Byleth decides, is decidedly _not_ a so-called ‘people person’. Ashe is one of those, as is Mercedes, and Sylvain feels like both ends of the spectrum at once. Particularly, persistently roach-like (worse than the ones in the dormitory men’s rooms), an apparent legend among unsavory legends… and somehow also a bright, outgoing guy with an easy charm that draws people in.

Byleth is… _definitely_ pulled in. He doesn’t think much of Sylvain (though to be fair, he doesn’t really think much at all about particular students beyond the day-to-day necessities and personalized training schedules). Sylvaine is only interesting for the first, what, four perhaps? times he witnesses a slap-slap-kiss… that ends with another slap. If only _interesting _for his truly impressive failures and the way Ingrid always seeks him out to give him a tongue lashing later. Amusing, maybe...

Interesting? No. He’s not interesting at_ all_, not until Byleth just so happens to overhear the guy having a series of chats with some fellow students-- all female-- about Crests. In short, he thinks of himself as the prize-winning virile stallion at the village festival, and is well aware of the fact that’s more like pulling the short straw rather than winning some lottery.

Actually, he seems to hate it. Yet his true feelings are so deeply entwined with cheer and cheese that it’s second nature for him to speak in rose-colored language, disguised thorns and all.

(…Byleth honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Sylvain literally starts spewing fancy petals from his mouth someday.)

See, Byleth’s not so great with people. Like Linhart, he is not a people person. Though Byleth would prefer to put it more like a people among persons… a lone minnow in the wide pond, he supposes. Unlike Linhart, however, he isn’t so much _choosing_ to avoid ‘troublesome’ things as it is that he just really doesn’t _get_ people.

……

Ah. Yes. Sylvain. Who better to consult with than the walking social paradox himself? Byleth runs around the monastery, coat sleeves flapping akimbo until he sees a head of bright ginger that’s too tall to be Anette. Target in sights.

…Oooor not. It’s Ferdinand. Byleth asks him if he’s seen Sylvain, is asked in return if he thinks Edelgard is cooler than himself (to which Byleth gives his best non-answer, answer), and departs in search of the correct redhead, leaving Ferdinand some random piece of shiny junk he found in the merchant alley as a thank-you. (Ferdinand seems to appreciate it. He's kinda funny. A good guy nonetheless.)

This time it’s definitely Sylvain he sees ‘round the bend, chatting with Dorothea. Byleth stops himself from calling out to him just in time-- first of all, it’s rude to interrupt, and secondly (more importantly), he’s pretty sure this’ll be hilarious no matter the outcome.

The usual glib lines fall from Sylvain’s lips as easy as ever. This much is usual… Byleth isn’t surprised when Dorothea utterly shoots him down with some casual yet absolutely crushing lines.

“I bet you enjoy going out with them, but you hate women themselves. Don’t you think?” …he catches Dorothea saying, with a bright, terrifying smile.

(Dorothea, Byleth thinks offhandedly, is not a woman to be messed with.)

Sylvain laughs and glances away. “Me? Hate women? Hahaha! That couldn’t be further from the... truth...”

(Even Byleth, socially inexperienced as he is, can tell this is going the way of Ferdinand’s one-sided competition with Edelgard. …He winces, just a little, on Sylvaine’s behalf.)

Sylvain follows it up with some more suspiciously intense denial. It smells like, ah, what was Felix’s wording...? Horse shit. Dorothea calls him out on it and shuts him down, leaving Sylvain exclaiming loudly to himself as she walks away.

He sounds giddy. Byleth is… lost. There’s a lot to think about; Sylvain’s suddenly grown three more shoe sizes in _interesting_.

In the end, Byleth walks away without actually asking what he meant to.

\-----

The conversation actually happens a week later, when Byleth just so _happens _(again) on the sight of Sylvain standing alone in the town square with this occasion's particular maiden-of-the-week fleeing the scene in tears.

“What happened?” He asks, curious.

“Oh, Professor,” Sylvain laughs, “I didn’t realize you were there. If we keep running into each other like this, don’t you think people are gonna start to talk? _‘Sylvain and the professor are out on the prowl’_, heh…”

Byleth just gives him a _look_. It’s enough to stop that particular foolishness.

“…Ah, forget it. What’s up?”

“Girl problems?”

Sylvain explains… Byleth is pretty sure he’s heard this tale before once or twice. Or thrice. Probably more. Momentarily, he fishes for something to say before just conveying his week-long thoughts bluntly:

_“You’re complicated.”_

Sylvain seems a bit offended, he thinks. Though he hadn’t intended that to be an insult.

“I’m a good-for-nothing, if you haven’t noticed, but I’m still a noble with a Crest. That’s all anyone cares about.”

(Ah! _Bless you, Sylvain.)_

“It’s best to avoid getting too serious with fools like that. …It only leads to trouble; I’m gonna be forced into marriage with some random noblewoman anyway.”

(This is true, actually. Byleth is a little surprised at how shrewd he is. And perhaps a little less at how shrewd _Dorothea _is, but only because he already knew that about _her_.)

“By the way, Professor. You didn’t know you had a Crest, did you?”

Honestly, Byleth has never really given it much thought. He responds as such. There were always more important things than gossip and whatnot, and Jeralt never mentioned them to begin with.

Sylvain helpfully explains the significance of Crests to noble families, along with his personal experience in the matter. It sounds, frankly speaking, _terrible_. A trophy stallion, indeed. The enigma begins to unravel, yet the intrigue only grows. Sylvain is truly _interesting_.

_\-----_

“I understand the value of my blood,” he says. “…Believe me, I hate how much I understand it.”

_\-----_

_(I want to know more about you,_ Byleth thinks. _‘Hate’_ is a truly rare word to drop from Sylvain’s lips.)

“You mean they only want you for your bloodline?” …is what he ends up saying; thoughts running a little ahead of his tongue. An unfortunate side effect of being a mercenary likened to an _ashen demon _who only has to fight, not entertain.

_Yes,_ is the obvious answer. Yet, the way Sylvain answers is anything but akin to a carefree noble with shallow thoughts.

He used to think a certain way. He doesn’t anymore. _What changed? _Byleth muses. A single event? Perhaps many? A breaking point, or many small cracks? Or maybe just one day having had _enough._ That’s both understandable and relatable. After all, that’s what got him here to begin with; having had _enough_ of the distraction from daily life by invasive thoughts on the _Sylvain Paradox._

He is jealous of Byleth.

_…Ah._

Jealous, he says. Byleth thinks about his mysterious Crest and Hanneman’s vaguely obsessive tendencies and the ways he dodges experiment proposals because it makes his teeth itch.

It is absolutely _nothing_ compared to Sylvain’s Crest-bound suffering. Suddenly Byleth understands Sylvain is not as shallow as he seems. After all, it takes great _care_ to purposely play care_free_.

Sylvain is honestly very… very… _hmm_.

_You are complicated,_ Byleth thinks to himself, again, feeling slightly helpless.

Sylvain confesses his jealousy, his _envy _to the point of _hatred,_ before sweeping away the thorns in a bluster of smooth, laughing petals. 

\-----

_“You should pay for that Crest. Maybe I’ll come collect on that debt.”_ The words are said darkly and then laughingly; Sylvain calling himself out on his own words while avoiding any actual hint of apology entirely.

Sylvain starts to walk away. That will not do. This conversation is not over. It cannot be over. Byleth will _not_ let this be all that transpires. There is far too much he wants to know and discuss with Sylvain, even the stupid things. Forget intrigue, Byleth is _fascinated. _

_You are complicated. Please tell me more._ _I’d like to know why and how._ _Your thoughts on many things. Teach me._

\--Ah, irony.

Byleth surges to catch up and puts a hand on Sylvain’s shoulder. “Get some dinner with me.”

**Author's Note:**

> if u havent seen sylvain/dorothea C, sylvain/ingrid c-a, and sylvain/felix c-a+ pls do urself a favor n prioritize em agshjdklfsghsdklf
> 
> honestly... byleth is totally their own character while still keeping with that silent/self insert protag trend? i love him sjgklsdkjf... tbh im so pleasantly overwhelmed by how much i love all these dumb kids uuuuguu..,, hes also canonically emotionless to the point he gets the nickname ashen demon (HELLO SEN NO KISEKI IS CALLING THEY WANT UH.......BASICALLY EVERYTHING BACK including crowvain) in pre-canon and then as the story goes on his 3d model gets super??? expressive??? oof. radical my dudes. my byleth also leans pretty heavily into the way i write atsuro from desu1/tico personals tm and hes a pretty relatable fellow honestly, tho i totally get that theres a lotta different ways to interpret them so id lov to hear feedback o':
> 
> what i imagine happens after this is they go out to dinner and byleth takes an entire year to realize 'interesting' isnt actually the word hes looking for AHHAHAHHAHAH NOT PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WHAT SO EVER--
> 
> anyway im sirgeckcellent @ tw, feel free to hmu for whatever or just in the comments (pls talk to me i swear im not actually rabid despite appearances..,) /o/ i wrote this at midnight instead of 3am so my a/n ramblings are like 60% more coherent than usual o)--( 
> 
> ....bedtime nya


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